HOW TO get the best travel insurance

Last Updated: 5/8/21 | may 8th, 2021

Travel insurance is one of the most important things you need when you travel — yet it’s often overlooked.

You wouldn’t drive a automobile without automobile insurance or own a home without home insurance. Why would you risk traveling the world without travel insurance?

While it may seem like an unnecessary expense, travel insurance provides a vital safety net when you’re abroad.

Illness and injury, canceled flights, damaged electronics, lost luggage, the death of a family member back home — these are all covered by travel insurance.

In a nutshell, travel insurance is an all-purpose emergency coverage plan. It’s the single most important thing you should get for your trip and something I strongly, strongly encourage travelers to never leave home without. I’ve seen it help so many people over the years – people who would have been out thousands of dollars otherwise.

Myself included.

I used it for a doctor in Argentina, when my cam broke in Italy, when my eardrum popped in Thailand, and when my luggage was stolen in South Africa.

Each time I was reimbursed for my expenses and was made whole again.

Travel insurance was there when my pal had to be helicoptered out of the Amazon after he fell off a boat, when another friend’s daddy died and she had to fly home, and when another pal got her bag stolen.

Travel insurance is designed to make sure you don’t lose a ton of money if an emergency happens abroad. since most health insurance programs don’t cover you overseas and travel credit scores cards offer limited protection, buying travel insurance is something you absolutely need to protect you against the unknown.

Since travel insurance is one of the most complex, important, and confusing aspects of trip planning, I want to break it down for you, help you understand what it is about, and show you how to pick the best travel insurance plans in just a kilka kroków!

Quick Overview: the best insurance Companies

Best overall travel Insurance

Safety Wing

Best travel insurance for Seniors

Insure My Trip

Best Expat travel Insurance

IM global Insurance

Most detailed Plans

World Nomads

Table of Contents

What to look For in a travel insurance Plan

What’s NOT Covered

Travel insurance Loopholes

The 6 best travel insurance Companies

When You should get a Plan

What to look For in a great travel insurance Plan

Insurance is a billion-dollar service and everyone wants their hand in the cookie jar. Consequently, you face a mind-numbing number of companies, policies, and terminology that can be confusing and overwhelming.

And, in the fine print, you’ll often discover that plans aren’t as good as they initially appear.

So, what should you do?

First, make sure your travel insurance offers a high coverage limit on your medical expenses. A good company will provide up to $100,000 USD in coverage care, though more expensive policies will cover you for higher amounts. The maximum coverage limit you can find is around $2,000,000 USD, though I’m not sure why you would ever need a limit that large.

High coverage limits are important because if you get sick, injured, or need serious attention and have to seek professional care, you want to make sure your high hospital bills are covered. the worst thing you can do is go low-cost and get a policy with a $20,000 USD coverage limit, break a leg, and reach that limit before they are done taking care of you. Don’t be low-cost with your health. make sure you have coverage for at least $100,000 USD.

Second, you want to make sure your travel insurance policy also covers emergency evacuation and care that is separate from your medical coverage. If you are hiking in the woods and you break your leg, your policy should cover your evacuation to the nearest acceptable medical facility.

If a natural disaster occurs and you need to be evacuated to somewhere else, your plan should cover that as well. This protection should cover an expense of up to $300,000 USD.

Additionally, make sure you understand if your evacuation coverage will pay for you to get home or if it will just send you to the nearest acceptable facility.

For example, if you break your leg abroad, most insurance policies will pay for your hospital bills. However, they won’t pay for you to get home since it’s not a life-threatening injury requiring advanced care.

Standard emergency evacuation coverage frequently only moves you if your current facility is inadequate or if it’s “medically necessary.” only then will they pay for a flight home.

In short, double-check if your company will cover the cost of your flight back home if you need it.

If you’d prefer not to stay in a foreign hospital for treatment and recovery, you should look into a medical transport membership program like Medjet. They make sure that, should you be hospitalized abroad, you’ll be able to be repatriated — something many travel insurance policies can’t guarantee.

Third, great travel insurance plans always include the following provisions:

Coverage for most countries in the world (including the places you plan on visiting).

Some coverage for your electronics (and have the option for a higher coverage limit).

Coverage for injury and sudden illnesses.

Offer 24/7 help (you don’t want to call to be told to call back later).

Coverage for lost, damaged, or stolen possessions like jewelry, baggage, documents, etc.

Coverage for cancellations for hotels, flights, and other transportation bookings if you have a sudden illness, death in the family, or some other emergency.

Coverage for political emergencies, natural disasters, or strife in the country that cause you to head home early.

Financial protection if any company you are using goes bankrupt and you are stuck in another country.

A quick note on electronics: most companies only have a small limit (usually up to $500 USD per item), as part of their basic coverage. You can often get supplemental insurance to get a higher amount of coverage.

Moreover, many regular and home insurance companies (such as state Farm) offer insurance plans that can help you cover your electronics.

If you’re traveling with a camera, laptop, phone, and other electronics, make sure you have suitable coverage. They’re usually the things most likely to be lost, get stolen, or break.

What’s Not covered By Your travel Insurance

Just as important as knowing what your plan covers is knowing what it doesn’t cover. generally speaking, most plans don’t cover:

Accidents sustained while participating in extreme adventure activities such as hang gliding, paragliding, or bungee jumping (unless you pay for extra coverage).

Alcohol- or drug-related incidents.

Carelessness in handling your possessions and baggage.

Recklessness (how “reckless” is defined is a matter up to each company).

Pre-existing conditions or general check-ups. For example, if you have diabetes and need to get more insulin, you won’t be covered. If you want to go see a doctor for a general check-up, you aren’t covered either.

Lost or stolen cash.

Your theft coverage won’t cover you if you left something in plain sight or unattended.

If civil unrest makes your destination unsafe but your government hasn’t called for an evacuation, you’re probably out of luck too.

Travel insurance Loopholes: What To look For

Even the best travel insurance have their limits. Often, in the fine print, you’ll find that plans aren’t as good as you thought.

The medical portion of travel insurance is more about emergency care than being a replacement for your normal healthcare. A lot of people purchase travel insurance get disappointed when they find out they can’t go get an annual physical with it.

Remember, you get what you pay for. maybe you see two companies offer similar plans but one is really cheap?

Czemu?

Usually, it’s because the devil is in the details and they have smaller payouts, take longer to process claims, deny more people, or have so many rules in the fine print that it turns out you aren’t going to get paid when you think ty jesteś!

Travel insurance is accident insurance. It is there to protect you in case of emergency and, if need be, get you home in a hurry. If you want a global health plan (because you’re now an expat living abroad), you need a completely different type of plan.

Here’s a helpful chart that summarizes common concerns and the corresponding coverage you’ll need. use it to help you find a suitable travel insurance plan:

Jeśli chcesz:

Include this in your travel insurance policy:

Payment for expenses if you get sick or injured on a trip

Travel medical and accident coverage

To be taken to the nearest hospital or flown home if necessary

Emergency evacuation and repatriation

Reimbursement if you get sick and have to cancel or end your trip early

Trip cancellation and trip interruption

Payment for lost, stolen or damaged luggage or goods

Theft and lost baggage overage

Help finding a doctor abroad

24-hour assistance

Payment for rental automobile damage

Car collision insurance (CDW)

The 5 best travel insurance Companies

The world is filled with insurance companies. You’re going to come across hundreds ofs them in your search for a reliable and cost effective provider. To help you separate the wheat from the chaff, I’m going to list my favorites.

Below are the companies I would be ok with my mother using. If you’ve found a company and it’s not listed here, it’s because I wouldn’t use them. I’ve researched hundreds of policies over the last ten years and have found the following companies to be reliable:

The #1 travel insurance company for Travelers!
My favorite company is safety Wing. safety Wing offers convenient and cost effective plans tailored to digital nomads and long-term travelers. They have low-cost monthly plans, great customer service, and an easy-to-use claims process that makes it perfect for those on the road.Używam ich, ponieważ mogę kupić i odnawiać moją polisę ubezpieczeniową online w ciągu kilku minut, mają bardzo przyjazny i responsywny personel, który odpowiada na pytania i pomagają w rozwiązywaniu problemów za pośrednictwem mediów społecznościowych, mają świetne opinie klientów, a co najważniejsze, zapewniają one Dużo ubezpieczenia po uczciwej cenie.

Inne dobre firmy ubezpieczeniowe do rozważenia

Najlepsze dla osób mieszkających za granicą

Najbliższa rzecz normalnego ubezpieczenia zdrowotnego

Dostępne dla mieszkańców spoza USA

Dziesiątki zasad do wyboru

Odwiedź stronę

Plany krótkoterminowe i roczne

Rozległy ochrona transportu medycznego

Dostępne dla mieszkańców USA, Kanady i Meksyku

Ograniczony czas spędzony w zagranicznych placówkach medycznych

Odwiedź stronę

Bardzo kompensacyjne plany

Może kupować plany za granicą

Roszczenia można składać online

Pokrycie Covid-19

Odwiedź stronę

Porównaj plany od 23 dostawców

Najlepsza opcja dla podróżników powyżej 65

„Zwolennicy w dowolnym momencie” Poproś ubezpieczyciela o wydanie roszczenia drugiego spojrzenia, jeśli uważasz, że nie jest niesprawiedliwie odmówiono

Gwarantowane niskie ceny

Odwiedź stronę

Kup ubezpieczenie podróży jak najszybciej

Możesz uzyskać ubezpieczenie podróży do dnia wyjazdu na wycieczkę (ponieważ kopnięcie zwykle zajmuje 24-48 godzin). Niektóre firmy, takie jak skrzydło bezpieczeństwa, pozwalają uzyskać plany za granicą. Możesz uzyskać ubezpieczenie podróży nawet po zarezerwowaniu lotu, dopóki polisa jest aktywowana przed odejściem.

Mimo że możesz poczekać, aż wyjdziesz, najlepiej jak najszybciej uzyskać ubezpieczenie podróży. Codziennie czekasz, istnieje szansa, że ​​coś się wydarzy i nie możesz uzyskać ubezpieczenia podróży po tym, jak coś pójdzie nie tak.

Jeśli huragan zrujnuje twoją podróż, ubezpieczenie podróży pokryłoby cię tylko wtedy, gdy kupiłeś je przed utworzeniem huraganu. Zdobądź plan dzień po pójściu do lekarza, ale zanim powie ci, że jesteś chory? Twój plan nie obejmuje Cię od czasu pierwotnej wizyty przed planem.

Nie czekaj na ubezpieczenie. Widziałem to zbyt często. W chwili, gdy wiesz, że gdzieś jedziesz i masz daty, uzyskaj ubezpieczenie podróży!

Nie chcesz skończyć jak mój kumpel w Peru, który postanowił przeciwko zasięgu, tylko po to, by złamać rękę i musiał wydać dużo pieniędzy, aby naprawić je w Limie.

Uwaga na temat Covid-19 (i innych pandemii)

Ponieważ wielu podróżników nauczyło się na własnej skórze, większość polis ubezpieczenia podróży nie obejmuje pandemii. Do tej pory tak naprawdę nie było to zmartwienie dla większości podróżników. Heck, przed tym rokiem nigdy tak naprawdę nie przekonałem „klauzuli pandemicznej”, bardzo myśląc o czytaniu moich polis ubezpieczeniowych.

Jednak w dzisiejszych czasach zasięg pandemiczny jest na czele umysłu każdego podróżnika (i słusznie).

Na szczęście, gdy firmy ubezpieczeniowe dostosowują się do naszej nowej rzeczywistości, niektóre firmy zapewniają obecnie ograniczoną ochronę dla Covid-19 (lub innych pandemii). To ograniczone ubezpieczenie zwykle obejmuje anulowanie lub opóźnienie podróży (jak ma to miejsce w przypadku Nomadów Światowych, choć mają one również ochronę medyczną dla Covid) lub do domu transportowego (jak ma to miejsce w przypadku Medjet). Bezpieczeństwo zapewnia również zasięg Covid-19.

Zanim dostaniesz plan gdziekolwiek, przeczytaj drobny druk dotyczący pandemii i Covid-19. Upewnij się, że w pełni rozumiesz, co jest i nie jest uwzględnione, abyś mógł podjąć odpowiednie działania, jeśli nastąpi sytuacja. W razie wątpliwości zadzwoń do nich i porozmawiaj z przedstawicielem. Nie ryzykuj swojego zdrowia w założeniach!

Ostateczne przemyślenia: dlaczego kupowanie ubezpieczenia podróży jest koniecznością

Wiem, że myślisz teraz: „OK, wiem, czym jest teraz ubezpieczenie podróży… ale czy naprawdę to zrobię?”

Odpowiedź brzmi tak.

Z jednego prostego powodu: nie jesteś Supermanem ani Wonder Woman. W ciągu dekady podróży światem nauczył mnie, że zdarzają się wypadki. You may be in perfect health right now but can you say 100% you won’t get sick in the jungle of Asia or hurt climbing a mountain in Africa?

Can you say no one will steal your stuff in Spain or Italy or that you won’t pop an eardrum diving in Tahiti?

Can you sa